CHICANO PARK ADDED TO LIST OF HISTORIC PLACES

San Diego 
San Diego’s Chicano Park has been entered into the National Register of Historic Places.

The designation, which officially occurred Jan. 23, recognizes the park for its “critical association with the Chicano Civil Rights Movement and events that have made a significant contribution to the broad patterns of the City of San Diego’s political and social history,” according to the materials filed in support of the park’s entry, which were submitted last year by the California State Historical Resources Commission.

The inclusion on the register also acknowledges the significance of the park’s internationally acclaimed murals, “created by a large groups of artists, including the masters of the Chicano Movement muralism.”

The park, near National Avenue and Dewey Street in Barrio Logan (under the east-west approach ramps of the San Diego-Coronado Bridge), was established April 22, 1970, when residents objected to the redevelopment of previously promised park space into a site for a Highway Patrol substation.

Community members and Chicano activists peacefully occupied the site, ultimately prompting the abandonment of the substation plans and marking a turning point in the local Chicano rights movement.

Since 1970, the 7.4-acre space has become a community gathering place, with the bridge’s pillars serving as a canvas for artists to depict the community’s struggles and inspire its triumphs.

The listing qualifies the park, which is also included on the California Register of Historical Resources, for certain protections and grants for historic preservation.

A restoration of the murals received the “Grand Orchid” award at the 2012 Orchids & Onions Awards Ceremony. The 43rd annual celebration of Chicano Park is scheduled for April 20, with the theme “Chicano Park: Aztlan’s Jewel and a National Chicano Treasure.”